THE GOOD LIFE <i> by Helen and Scott Nearing (Schocken: $12.95, illustrated) </i>

In 1932, Helen and Scott Nearing left New York City for the Green Mountains of Vermont to establish an independent, self-sufficient life style. Their otherwise interesting account of learning to live off the land is marred by the book’s primly self-righteous tone. They question the morality of keeping bees for honey because it “certainly exploits the bees,” although they have no qualms about “exploiting” trees to make maple sugar and syrup. During the intervening decades, scientists have learned that widespread adoption of some practices advocated in “The Good Life” would be ecologically disastrous. Still, if enough people followed the Nearings’ example, it would alleviate traffic on the freeways for those who choose to remain in the cities to read and publish the memoirs of self-sufficient folks who have ostensibly abandoned urban society.